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On November 28 2017, an interactive workshop will be held at Imperial College London which will demonstrate the benefits of a systematic and integrated approach to designing more sustainable and resilient cities using nature based, or Blue-Green, solutions. The workshop will start with an overview of the Blue Green Systems Approach for urban planning and design and the Adaptation Support Tool (AST). In the second part, the participants will use a case study to get hands-on experience with the approach and the tools.

Over 80 delegates convened at Imperial College London on Nov. 11th, 2015 to hear about:

The computer models and tools developed by the Blue Green Dream consortium

The opportunities in London for achieving our Blue Green vision

The steps being taken both within the UK and internationally to implement the Blue Green paradigm

Prof. Cedo Maksimovic

After the initial introductions by the BGD leader Prof. Cedo Maksimovic and the BGD project manager Dr Karl Smith, delegates were treated to insights into the cutting edge research being pursued by the BGD consortium to quantify the benefits of green infrastructure and develop models of the performance of green infrastructure.

In the second second session, the supporting science behind the BGD was introduced. Delegates heard how the University of Reading and the Royal Horticultural Society are collaboratively assessing the effect that irrigation with greywater has on the ecosystem service provision of green roof plant species and how Imperial College is using the data collected from its blue green roof facility to develop a predictive model of green roofs’ stormwater detention and building energy efficiency performance.

Frans van de Ven

Next, the tools and services created by the BGD consortium were introduced. These included: the Integrated Modelling System – for systematically developing Blue Green plans that consider all key interactions between blue green infrastructure, the site buildings and the local environment; the Adaptation Support Tool – for co-creating and refining, with stakeholder groups, designs for Blue Green retrofit schemes; UWOT – for optimising the efficiency of water networks from the individual household to the city level; the Intelligent Cistern – for ensuring that stormwater/rainwater storage tanks are partially discharged prior to intense rainfall events to facilitate their use as flood risk mitigation measure.

Alex Nickson

In the mid-afternoon session, our guest speakers, who included Alex Nickson of the Greater London Authority and Tom Cardis, of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (ODPC), described some potential pathways and opportunities for implementing the BGD philosophy in London. The Old Oak and Park Royal site, which will be the largest development in the UK and will feature the only connection point between the new HS2 rail-line and Crossrail, is poised to set a precedent in Blue Green planning for the capital. We heard from practitioners Roger Helmsworth of architects Pollard Thomas Edwards and ecologist Mike Wells, head of Biodiversity by Design, on the blue greening of architectural plans/designs and a post-industrial site respectively.

Alex Panko

Finally, we heard from Alex Panko about the new, blue green paradigm for sustainable, high speed construction in development between the BGD spin-off Blue Green Global and modular building company Panablok. Tony Brophy, who organised the 2014 Sustainable Green Infrastructure Conference held in London, concluded proceedings with a rousing and affirmative speech on the steps being taken by Prof Cedo Maksimovic and the greater BGD community to truly achieve the BGD’s vision.

You can now download presentations from the event – see below:

Please note that copyright is retained by the presentation authors and their respective institutions. Presentation materials may not be reused without the express permission of the copyright owners.

We’re delighted to announce that on Nov. 27th, 2015 the Blue Green Dream Project won first prize in the R&D Programme of the Year category of the inaugural BusinessGreen Technology Awards 2015.

Prof. Cedo Maksimovic and Dr Ana Mijic of the BGD with James Murray, Editor-in-Chief of BusinessGreen

The judging panel included Julie Hirigoyen, Chief Executive of the Green Building Council, Rt Hon Huw Irranca-Davies MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Michelle Hubert, Head of Energy and Climate Change at the CBI, plus Dr Mike Pitts, Head of Urban Living and Built Environment at InnovateUK.

The judges faced an intimidating task in selecting just one of the 5 short-listed candidates for the top prize, with teams from Unilever and The University of Edinburgh amongst those in contention. The innovative and multi-pronged approach of the BGD, however, clearly worked heavily in its favour.

The BusinessGreen award to the BGD

The judges commended the BGD for its harnessing of a wide variety of technologies and natural processes to develop new approaches to sustainable urban living and enhanced climate change resilience.

The timely nature of the BGD garnered especial praise, with the judges commenting that the research into the tangible benefits offered by green infrastructure is likely to have a positive impact for cities faced with ever more challenging environmental issues.

The awards ceremony were held at Snap Studios in East London (close to the UK’s Silicon Roundabout tech hub). The BGD team wish to thank project manager Dr Karl Smith for his work in preparing the submission and all of the BGD partners, support organisations and affiliates for their sterling work in making this project a success.